Ryan Howard hit some of the biggest home runs in Phillies history during his career. The longtime first baseman also had his fair share of struggles, though.
Howard may know what Trea Turner has been going through this season. The $300 million shortstop hasn’t lived up to expectations and hit rock bottom last week.
Rather than piling on, Phillies fans stood behind Turner in his return to Citizens Bank Park this weekend with several standing ovations – and it paid off as Turner hit his first home run since the All-Star break and drove in five runs to match his July total.
Howard talked about his relationship with the Philadelphia fans and explained why he loved playing for the Phillies during his appearance on Audacy’s original “The Bret Boone Podcast” this week.
“I knew what it was. You always hear the stuff about how hard it is playing in the Northeast,” Howard said (6:20 in player above). “You got to have thick skin. You got to be ready to go. It’s a blue-collar town and they expect a blue-collar effort.”
Howard was ready for it.
“I was that kid where it’s like ‘Bring it. Let’s go,’” he said. “I know the kind of work I’m going to put in to do what I need to do to be able to go out here and try to win, and that’s all you can really try to go and do. The first time going up there, getting the understanding of how it was and understanding when it’s not going well, the fans will get on you, the media will get on you. But when it’s going well, it’s just the same but in the opposite direction.”
Howard was a big piece of the Phillies’ dominance in the late 2000s and he appreciated just how loud the fans could get.
“In my personal opinion, there was not a louder space in all of Major League Baseball,” he continued. “The electricity that rolled through that stadium night in, night out. Sell outs. The postseason.”
The longtime Phillies first baseman was happy to see his former teammate Aaron Nola and the rest of the guys get to the World Series last year.
“For so long we got to see the negative and hear about the negative of what Philly fans are and how tough they can be,” Howard said. “But they show you how they can love as well and get behind you and the electricity – they’re causing earthquakes!”
Howard felt that throughout the Phillies’ playoff runs in the late 2000s while also dealing with some more of the negative side of things after his Achilles injury in 2011.
“For me personally, it was a great run,” he said. “You got to take the good with the bad, the highs with the lows, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m glad I got to play my entire career in Philly…
“There are two sides to the coin,” Howard continued. “The biggest thing I learned there was you can’t take it personal. It’s not like the people know you on a personal level; they know you as a baseball player.
“The way I always looked at it is Philly is the City of Brotherly Love. You fight with your brother. You argue with your brother. But at the end of the day, you still love your brother. There’s always love underneath it all.”
Related
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram